HURRICANE SEASON ONE MONTH AWAY

Today is the first day of May. Which means we have one month until hurricane season begins. Will it be a nightmare like 2004 or relatively mild like it’s been for the past few years. That’s the question.
A major storm in Florida could be devastating, not only to the area struck by the storm but to all residents of the state – in increased insurance premiums to cover losses.
With that in mind, a recently released prediction by AccuWeather says storms should be slightly above average this year. According to a news release, AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center meteorologists believe the waning La Niña conditions and a continued warm water cycle in the Atlantic Basin will be the two defining factors influencing the 2008 hurricane season, causing the number of storms to be slightly above average but, more importantly, increasing the chance for U.S. landfalling storms.
But there may be hope for us – meaning Florida. AccuWeather has looked at similar weather patterns and it appears North Carolina is in the bullseye this season. The news release says the AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center is looking at 1955, 1996, and 1999 as a few of the years showing similar weather characteristics to our current large-scale patterns. In 1955, Hurricanes Connie and Diane hit the Outer Banks and Carolina Beach in North Carolina. In 1996, Hurricanes Bertha and Fran made landfall in the Wilmington/Cape Fear area of North Carolina. During the 1999 hurricane season, Floyd and Dennis made landfall in September on the North Carolina coast.
Now I certainly don’t want to wish North Carolina any bad luck. I have family there. But it would be nice for Florida to skate by for another year.
With the economy like it is, a hurricane is the last thing we need in the State of Florida.